Former ICC chief killed by bomb in Iraq

Terry Barnich, a former Illinois Commerce Commission chairman and chief counsel to former Gov. Jim Thompson, was killed by a bomb today while traveling in a convoy in Iraq, friends and family said.

Barnich, 56, was serving as deputy director for the Iraq Transition Assistance Office for the State Department, said his friend Philip O'Connor, a former Commerce Commission chairman who served with him in Iraq. Barnich began work there in January 2007, he said.

A State Department spokeswoman could not confirm the death late Monday. His loved ones said they were notified earlier in the day.

"He was a guy who didn't pass up the opportunity to help out and this was a case in point," said business partner Craig Clausen.

Barnich, who grew up in Chicago's Hegewisch community, served as commission chairman from 1989 to 1992.

"He's always been interested in politics, even when we were children," said his sister, Rochelle.

"He was just a great guy, very driven, but could be a complete [goof]. Great sense of humor, great sense of pride in his country."